Gonzaga women remain No. 16; Jenn Wirth named player of week

Unlike several other teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Gonzaga women avoided the upset bug.

However, despite the turmoil – 11 ranked teams lost at least one game last week – the Zags weren’t able to move up in this week’s poll and remain 16th. They also stayed seventh in the Rating Percentage Index, or RPI.

Gonzaga (16-1 overall and 5-0 in the West Coast Conference) is coming off a 25-point win over Saint Mary’s and a one-point victory over Pacific. However, the teams immediately ahead of them (No. 13 Mississippi State, No. 14 Kentucky and No. 15 DePaul) were able to avoid upsets.

That GU averted a loss to Pacific was due in large part to a career day from junior forward Jenn Wirth, who earned WCC Player of the Week honors for the second week this season.

In that game, Wirth scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 68-67 win.

It was the first 20-plus scoring game this year for any player on a very balanced GU squad. Wirth also had six offensive rebounds in the game.

Two days earlier, Wirth had 10 points and 10 boards in a 74-49 home win over Saint Mary’s. She was 16-for-24 from the field in the two-game homestand.

Gonzaga is back on the road this week, Thursday at Santa Clara (8-8 overall, 2-3 in the WCC) and Saturday at last-place San Francisco (7-10 and 0-5).

GU has a two-game lead in the WCC standings. Pacific, Saint Mary’s and BYU have two conference losses apiece.